"Why Katrina's Winds Must PUSH You"

First of all, allow me to lessen any concerns you have that this will be anything like the typical commentary you've been reading about the Katrina disaster. It won't. In fact, one of the reasons I decided to wait a few weeks to address this was to allow some time to gain some perspective. And that is indeed what I plan to provide here. This is in NO way a commercial or advertisement for anything that we offer, nor am I offering political opinions of ANY kind. This is about YOU and your life, and exactly what you choose to learn from this disaster. Let me also say that if you or anyone you know was directly affected by this horrific event, our thoughts and prayers are with you during this difficult time. In fact, our organization has already provided a lot of resources, financial and otherwise, to the humanitarian effort that is currently being undertaken. We plan to go a lot further with this in the coming weeks. HOWEVER, for those of you who are like us and were not hurt directly by Katrina, you need to understand something. Katrina has had a direct impact on you no matter where you live or what your circumstances are. You will see why in just a moment. All I ask is that you invest the next few minutes of your life absorbing every word of this. _________________________ When I first saw the devastation created by Katrina in the Gulf Coast, I had the same reaction as the rest of the country: first shock, then grief, then giving. The most important thing is to get as much aid to these families and individuals as quickly as possible. Even though the government will ultimately step up to foot the bill, the amount of help needed is so great that even the millions and millions in donations thus far will hardly make a dent. So the first order of business is (and will remain as such for some time) getting help to these folks via reputable organizations like the Red Cross and the Salvation Army. In case there's any question as to how severe the issues are with displaced families, a quick story. A church in our area recently made a decision to house a family in a vacant single family home that they had previously used as a parsonage. Since the red tape proved overwhelming, they decided to drive down to Mississippi to find a family in need, pick them up and bring them back up to our area (Chicago). This family is made up of a young couple and their three children (ages 2, 4 and 8). We were involved in helping with the effort to get them up moved here and situated, and here's what I can tell you. It took an entire community of people - DOZENS of folks - to help get this ONE family moved and situated. They had nothing but the clothes on their back. They have needed donations of EVERY imaginable form: furniture, food, clothes for all five of them, a working vehicle, toiletries, and on and on. They are literally starting their lives over from absolutely nothing. I tell you this simply to point out that there are literally thousdands and thousands of individuals and families in this same situation. The amount of help needed is so great that it exceeds what most of us can perceive. When I think about how many people and donations it took for us to help just this ONE family, it creates a perspective that needs to be shared. In fact, it's at this point where Katrina's real impact starts to become more apparent. In the days immediately following the disaster, I began to read the newspaper a little more carefully. Now, I don't normally make a habit of following news carefully because frankly the negativity tends to diminish the entrepreneurial spirit. I've found that you definitely need to create an emotional separaration when you follow news so that you aren't filling your mind with so many of the negative realities of our nation and world. So I made the decision to follow the news very closely, but as an observer. Based on my observations, here is the main realization that I want to share with you. THE COST OF RECOVERY Whether you realize it or not, the cost of this recovery effort will ultimately be paid for by EVERY American, including you. Let's take a closer look at this. * Gas Prices - This one is the most immediately evident at the pump. Despite a lot of speculation that the oil and gas companies are price gougiing the American people (which may or may not be true and will not be debated here), the reality is that gas prices may settle a bit but will never go back down to what they were two or three years ago. We can hope they will but it's simply not going to happen. * Energy Costs - Experts are saying that energy costs in general are going to rise significantly, at least in the short term. Here in Chicago, our gas companies have raised their rates anywhere from 30-60%, and our major electricity utility will be raising their rates by at least 15-20%. My guess is that similar things are happening in your market. * Insurance Costs - Needless to say, it is likely that one of the outcomes of this disaster will be higher insurance costs. As it is, in the last five years homeowners insurance premiums have increased significantly in this country. Based on the degree of damage done by Katrina and the number of claims expected, I would expect to see this trend continue. * Cost of General Goods - There are also predictions that numerous products will be affected by this event, including the cost of: coffee and chocolate (which get imported through the Gulf region); paper products and detergent (which contain heavy petroleum and natural gas components); and finally asphalt, roofing shingles and lumber (due to the high demand as a result of the massive rebuilding effort). * INFLATION - This is the "hidden" one that you need to really understand. Let me explain. When the government agrees to foot the bill for a disaster like this, they don't just pull the money out of thin air. They do it just like most Amercians do - they borrow it. (Scarily enough, it's really just paper that gets created to do this and there's no true gold or value against the amount borrowed, but that's yet another story for another time). HOWEVER, the important question here is: Who will eventually pay the bill for this loan? Yes, the government will eventually pay it, but where will the actual money come to do that? The answer: The American People will ultimately pay for it - if not directly, than certainly in the form of INFLATION. As a reminder, inflation is the general and progressive increase in prices over time. While this is often caused by supply and demand, in this case it is also a function of the bill for a disaster like Katrina getting passed along to Americans in the form of a higher cost of living. Essentially, the burden "spills down" on consumers from the corporations and businesses who get immediately hit by it, thus causing waves of price increases over time. "OK Ken, Your Point Is...?" My point is simple: Whether you acknowledge it or not, Katrina will have a DIRECT impact onyou personally unless you wake up and do something about it. Think of your path to financial freedom as an enterprise. All successfuls enterprises flourish by doing TWO things: 1) increasing profits and 2) reducing expenses. Well guess what? Number two IS NOT going to happen. In fact, as I just explained your expenses are going UP whether you like it or not. That means it's time to focus on number one: increasing your income as SOON as possible. Katrina needs to be a CALL TO ACTION for you. After you give the time, service and resources that you have available for helping those in need, you need to take serious action toward achieving your goal of financial freedom. If you're already taking massive action and starting to see results, that's great. Just don't give up. Let this be a motivator that keeps you going, that keeps you doing the things that most are NOT willing to do. However, if you're not already taking the kind of action necessary, this is your wake-up call. I know for a fact that there are many folks reading this who are pretending - and you need to wake up to this fact NOW and take advantage of the opportunities that are before you. Despite its devastation, Katrina serves to remind ALL of us that we wake up every day with a CHOICE. You can either make excuses and continue to allow your circumstances to define your financial future, OR you can get rid of your laziness and apathy and start taking the action that only 1% of this country is willing to take in order to have the life of freedom that you deserve. One more thing. If you were making $50K per month or even just $20K per month, how great would it feel to be able to donate a large amount of money to this cause? If the ability to give to worthy causes is one of your reasons for pursuing financial freedom, I can tell you this based on personal experience... nothing feels better than to finally be able to write a nice BIG check to an organization that does humanitarian good in the world. In closing, I sincerely hope that Katrina's winds will push you to start taking massive action that will bring you 1) freedom from the stress of ever-rising expenses, 2) the level of income that you deserve based on your own hard work, and 3) the ability to give to national and international causes that are working to better humanity. Warmest regards, Ken Preuss ForeclosureMBA.com P.S. 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